Italian school; 18th Century.

Italian school; After LUDOVICO CARDI; 18th century.
"Ecce homo".
Oil on canvas.
It presents faults and perforation on the pictorial surface.
It has a 19th century frame with faults.
Measurements: 175 x 136 cm; 192 x 153 cm (frame).
The author of this devotional work conceives the theme of the Ecce Homo, through the use of a simple and clear composition with the presence of Christ in the centre flanked on the sides by Pontius Pilate and a character who is putting on the purple cloak symbol of the realisation. The author of the work seeks a certain veracity in conceiving the image on what appears to be a barely discernible rostrum, but on which Christ's tunic rests, thus generating a trompe l'oeil that lends spatiality to the scene. Visually, the highly contrasted and effective lighting treatment dominates, based on a spotlight that falls directly on the figure of Christ, creating expressive chiaroscuro effects and leaving the rest in semi-darkness, against a dark, neutral background that further enhances the physical presence of the figure. The colour scheme also derives directly from Baroque models and is therefore based on a restrained, warm, highly nuanced palette of ochre, earthy and carmine tones. Aesthetically the work is largely reminiscent of the painting created in 1607 by Ludovico Cardi (San Miniato, 1559 - Rome, 1613), known as Cigoli, when he lived in Rome.

The subject of Ecce Homo belongs to the cycle of the Passion, and precedes the episode of the Crucifixion. Following this iconography, Jesus is presented at the moment when the soldiers mock him, after crowning him with thorns, dressing him in a purple robe (here red, the symbolic colour of the Passion) and placing a reed in his hand, kneeling down and exclaiming "Hail, King of the Jews". The words "Ecce Homo" are those pronounced by Pilate, who is depicted in this scene next to Christ, dressed in elegant clothes, as he presents Christ to the crowd; their translation is "behold the man", a phrase by which he mocks Jesus and implies that Christ's power was not such as that of the rulers who were judging him there. The Saviour crowned with thorns or the Man of Sorrows. For this scene, we take the evangelist Matthew (Mt 27, 28-29:) and stripping him naked, they covered him with a scarlet cloak, and placed on his head a crown woven with thorns, and a reed in his right hand.